What Is SCCM? ( System Center Configuration Manager ) | A Complete Guide with Best Practices

• In this article you will learn:
• 1.What is a SCCM .
• 2.What is SCCM and How it works?
• 3.System Center family of Products.
• 4.Features of SCCM.
• 5.Conclusion.

What is a SCCM?

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) is a Windows product that allows administrators to manage the security and deployment of Enterprise applications and devices. System Center is a Microsoft management tool family or suite. Organizations would rather buy System Center Configuration Manager than a System Center component for updating or patching their systems.

How SCCM Works?

Step 1: To install the application create a package in an SCCM console that includes command line and executable files.

Step 2: The Configuration Manager administrator creates a virtual application packaging and replicates it to the Distribution Points of choice.

Step 3: If a user needs to download an application he or she can do so directly from a distribution point rather than connecting to an SCCM primary server.

Step 4: Install an SCCM agent which allows the machine to communicate with SCCM servers.

Step 5: During this step the SCCM agent continues to look for new policies and deployments. SCCM admin creates a deployment where an application is targeted on a group of machines using updates.

Step 6: When a policy reaches an end machine the SCCM agent evaluates it and contacts its specific regional distribution points to download packages.

Step 7: Once the executable files have been downloaded to the temp folder users can install the packages on their local system. The file status is now sent back to an SCCM server for updating in a database.

These are the fundamental steps for explaining how SCCM works, and many more must be considered in the background. However the core components of any software distribution infrastructure (application packages, distribution points, SCCM agents and servers are the same.

What are the System Center family of Products:

1. System Center Configuration Manager:

System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) can imagine and install a base operating system on a system based on the configuration provided. After installing an operating system SCCM takes over to update or patch the system. It maintains a system inventory as well as remote control capabilities. It enables IT administrators to keep track of all machines’ system configurations based on a single and shared organisational configuration.

2. System Center Operations Manager:

SCCM is a product that establishes a system’s base configuration and keeps it updated and patched. A System Center Operations Manager is then in charge of monitoring the health of a system as well as all other applications installed on that system. There are specific rules in place to ensure that the system operates normally and if there are any deviations all necessary personnel is notified of the changes.

3. System Center Data Protection Manager:

When SCOM reports any faults on the physical machine, Data Protection Manager (DPM) comes in handy. DPM aids in backup recovery by storing backups. DPM backups the server file system, SharePoint data, exchange databases and SQL databases on a regular basis. This aids in the recovery of a system through full data recovery from corrupted or damaged data.

4. System Center Virtual Machine Manager:

As an organization’s physical systems are shifted to virtual systems for development, maintenance and production a tool that handles all life cycle-related activities for virtual machines – System Center Virtual Machine Manager – emerges (VMM).If a physical or virtual system is about to fail, SCOM can initiate the automatic creation of a new session using SCCM and Hyper-V to build a new virtual system. VMM also aids in the automated transfer of the operating system, applications and data to the virtual machine (P2V).

5. System Center Service Manager:

Most of the tools in a System Center suite of products are for IT tasks like patching, imaging, monitoring and backups. However there are also organisational needs like managing processes and controlling changes.System Center Service Manager (SCSM) is a system for managing incidents and controlling changes. It works well with System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) and other similar systems. It helps log all problems found with these tools and gathers all information about the problem so that Desk or Support staff can look at it from one place.

6. System Center Capacity Planner:

With the growing needs of an organisation there is always a need to upgrade the infrastructure. A System Center Capacity Planner assists in identifying and testing performance demands from a current setup as well as planning for future requirements. Based on the current requirements it aids in identifying relative hardware requirements to meet an organization’s performance demands.

7. System Center Mobile Device Manager:

Organizations rely on servers and clients to carry out their operations, but with the introduction of smartphones with comparable computing power mobile devices have also joined the bandwagon for operations carried out in organisations.System Center Mobile Device Manager (MDM) collaborates with System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) to manage all life cycle stages for all mobile devices from inception to completion. In other words MDM is to mobile devices what SCCM is to servers. A MDM can be used to perform tasks such as provisioning, monitoring, updating, securing and wiping devices.

8. System Center Essentials:

Not every company has a dedicated IT department to handle all system and server issues (organizations with less than a 500 users or 50 servers). Microsoft offers System Center Essentials which enables management functions such as inventory tracking, patching and updating these systems, monitoring and deploying newer software. All of this can be done with a single tool allowing them to scale their system administration capabilities.

Major & Basic Features of System Centre Configuration Manager(SCCM):

1. Operating System deployment.

2. Patching & Updating.

3. Asset Tracking.

4. Remote Control.

5. Software deployment.

6. Desired Configuration Management.

7. Internet Client.

8. Reporting.

Conclusion:

In this article we’ve tried to explain what a Software Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) does to solve a business problem. Have a good understanding of how systems are managed in a business and how SCCM’s features help solve problems. Then we talked about the System Center suite of products and their features. We also took a closer look at some of the most important SCCM features.